Objective: To study the cause of the seeds dormancy of Glehnia littoralis in vitro and to establish plant regeneration methods via somatic embryos.
Method: The effects of endosperm and exogenous hormone on the seed dormancy breaking of G. littoralis and the effect of hormone concentration on embryonic callus induction and plant regeneration via somatic embryos were observed,
Results: The germination rate of the seeds with 1/3 endosperm was the highest which achieved 31%. TDZ, 6-BA and GA3 treatment could not break seed dormancy but easily lead to abnormal seedlings. Embryogenic callus induction rates was up to 57% on MS supplemented with 1.0 mg x L(-1) 2,4-D. After 20 days culture, embryogenic calli were transferred to MS medium and cotyledonary embryos were formed in 40 days. The regenerated plants were obtained in 20 days.
Conclusion: An effective system of plant regeneration of G. littoralis was established in this study.